A Hull man who was facing the death penalty in connection with the 2009 shooting death of a Liberty store clerk pleaded guilty today to capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Stevie R. "Bubba" Walder Jr., 34, pleaded guilty to shooting 50-year-old Naushad Virani in the head after robbing his convenience store on North Main in Liberty County on Dec. 25, 2009. Police linked Walder to a white supremacist group, the Aryan Brotherhood, but did not say whether his connection to that group was a motive.

Liberty County District Attorney Mike Little said Walder's case was set to go to trial in September.

Last month, 253rd District Judge Chap Cain allowed Walder to represent himself and appointed his former Conroe-based attorney, Stephen C. Taylor, as standby counsel.